Nostalgia: "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and other wonderful songs

Last week, right in the middle of the Evansville Schools Ad Hoc Task Force to examine and recommend an option for new school construction, right in the middle of the list of options and the request of folks on short notice to rank them without information.....I was stuck behind the camera....could not open my mouth....and I began to hear my favorite childhood song, "I've Been Working on the Railroad."

One of the reasons for that song being one of my favorites was that my dad worked on the railroad for 30 years....and his father before him worked on the railroad---both for the Railway Mail Service---it was a long time ago---so long ago...the days when a letter could go from Minneapolis to Montana in 1 day----not three like today. And the railway mail carriers had to know the zip codes or order of delivery in their heads so the bags could be thrown off the train to the skyhook in the proper order. Ah the good old days.

I remember the call. When without any interview, but with test scores, I was called to begin service in the railway mail service. I had not even given it a thought until I got the call. I just said, "Nope. I don't think so."